But looking to the humanities to understand business is an opportunity to engage business in subjects and ideas that have a tremendous, if often overlooked, impact on people. WebNORMATIVE AND INTERPRETIVE CONCEPTIONS: CRIMINAL JUSTICE. Promoting; contributing (used with to ); helpful. BE - Chap. 1 Flashcards | Chegg.com The more novel and difficult the ethical choice we face, the more we need to rely on discussion and dialogue with others about the dilemma. Making ethical decisions requires sensitivity to the ethical implications of problems and situations. Values express a normative model of conduct that tells members Best answer includes known wishes of patient and other pertinent info, like living will that might be available if patient is incompetent. Normative Ethics Examples Honesty: Being honest and truthful is a core principle of normative ethics. The Virtue Framework In the Virtue framework, we try to identify the character traits (either positive or negative) that might motivate us in a given situation. OpenStax is part of Rice University, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Katherine Dunham's training in anthropology was conducive to her acquiring a vast knowledge of dances and rituals of the Caribbean, which is reflected in her exotic choreography. Law may have a difficult time designing or enforcing standards in some important areas, and may be slow to address new problems. Place your answers in a columnar table similar to that in part (1) but with the following column heads. 2023 Brown University, Program in Science, Technology, and Society. The Egoistic ApproachOne variation of the utilitarian approach is known as ethical egoism, or the ethics of self- interest. Making good ethical decisions requires a trained sensitivity to ethical issues and a practiced method for exploring the ethical aspects of a decision and weighing the considerations that should impact our choice of a course of action. Three Models of Legal Ethics - Northwestern University Our mission is to improve educational access and learning for everyone. It is not a coincidence that it appears in the American Declaration of Independence (1776), which was written by Thomas Jefferson and inspired by the British Enlightenment philosopher John Locke. In fact, John Mackey, the founder of Whole Foods, has said that love has been the basis of his success in business, which translates into care and concern for customers beyond profit and for workers beyond productivity (Figure 5.8).39, Recall the statement by IBM quoted earlier in the chapter: [IBM] remain[s] dedicated to leading the world into a more prosperous and progressive future; to creating a world that is fairer, more diverse, more tolerant, more just.40. Although ethical practice has been directly influenced by religion, as noted, ethics is not religion and religious belief is not a prerequisite for a commitment to business ethics. This approach to ethics underscores the networked aspects of society and emphasizes respect and compassion for others, especially those who are more vulnerable. The following are important terms used in making moral judgments about particular actions. Thus, love, as responsibility, depends on relationships based on good faith and concern. Ethical systems, whether utilitarian, rights based, or based on natural law and virtue ethics, are attempts to translate absolute values like these into workable solutions for people. It is to briefly examining the content, prescriptive force and application of these principles that this discussion now turns. The search for a universally applied set of ethics always comes back to it. What, then, is missing from humanistic business? This document is designed as an introduction to making ethical decisions. The most basic form of the imperative is: Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. So, for example, lying is unethical because we could not universalize a maxim that said One should always lie. Such a maxim would render all speech meaningless. In the United States, companies spend more than $70 billion annually on ethics training; worldwide, the figure is more than double that.30 Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Omissions? 3. MAKING CHOICES: A FRAMEWORKFORMAKING ETHICAL DECISIONS. Below is a sample of some of the most important and useful of these ethical approaches. It was last revised in May, 2013. Formulate Actions and Consider Alternatives. For those dedicated to the case method, novels, short stories, and plays offer an inexhaustible storehouse of riches, more detailed, subtle, and complete than most cases written up for courses.37, In DeGeorges humanities model, business ethics would not prepare students to do certain things, for which they likely will be trained by their employers, but to be certain persons. Giving employees common-sense advice and training in practical ways to counter unethical behavior, as well as ethical role models at the top of the organization, can be more effective than prevention. normative The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo Consider the Parties InvolvedAnother important aspect to reflect upon are the various individuals and groups who may be affected by your decision. Obviously, this framework is useful in situations that ask what sort of person one should be. Finally, many people use the terms morality and ethics interchangeably. For example, we would say that murder is ethically impermissible. It emphasizes the belief that all humans have a right to dignity. In this model, organizations focus on employees as a vital part of the operation and support them in their professional training, health care, education, family responsibilities, and even spiritual concerns. especially decisions with consequences that concern large groups of people, One variation of the utilitarian approach is known as ethical egoism, or the ethics of self- interest. Many organizations focus on the letter of the law so that they can claim good faith in their effort to create an ethical environment. The Divine Command ApproachAs its name suggests, this approach sees what is right as the same as what God commands, and ethical standards are the creation of Gods will. Having a framework for ethical decision making is essential. Leaders create positive relationships with stakeholders, including their employees, to cultivate investor goodwill and because they believe in the underlying values of trust and authenticity. Having a method for ethical decision making is essential. Think back to a time when you negotiated with someone in a position of authority for something you strongly wanted. then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution: Use the information below to generate a citation. Can Martin Bubers notion of love play a role in business? For example, we might say it is ethically obligatory for parents to care for their children, not only because it is right for them to do it, but also because it is wrong for them not to do it. Having a method for ethical decision making is essential. Some bias is good, as in having a favorable disposition toward those who work hard in intellectually honest ways. The ancient Greek philosophers Plato (427-347 BCE) and Aristotle (384-322 BCE) promoted the perspective that our actions should contribute to ethical communal life life. NORMATIVE FRAMEWORKS FOR ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING: Making good ethical decisions requires a trained sensitivity to ethical issues and a practiced method for exploring the ethical aspects of a decision and weighing the considerations that should impact our choice of a course of action. WebRvs: Two Types of Values 1. It is either less clear what to do or harder to do it because of constant pressure to increase the organizations profitability and the perception that everybody else is doing it.29. This is one reason why we can sometimes say that we have a moral intuition about a certain situation, even when we have not consciously thought through the issue. (The Common Good Approach), Which action leads me to act as the sort of person I should be? When seen from Bubers perspective, however, love is not an idyllic feeling but a driving force for justice and care. Both law and ethics deal with questions of how we should live together with others, but ethics is sometimes also thought to apply to how individuals act even when others are not involved. Demands persons in similar circumstances be treated similarly. Recognizing an Ethical IssueOne of the most important things to do at the beginning of ethical deliberation is to locate, to the extent possible, the specifically ethical aspects of the issue at hand. One of the most important things to do at the beginning of ethical deliberation is to locate, to the extent possible, the specifically ethical aspects of the issue at hand. One of the most influential recent proponents of ethical egoism was the Russian-American philosopher Ayn Rand (1905-1982), who, in the book The Virtue of Selfishness (1964), argues that self-interest is a prerequisite to self-respect and to respect for others. In acting according to a law that we have discovered to be rational according to our own universal reason, we are acting autonomously (in a self-regulating fashion), and thus are bound by duty, a duty we have given ourselves as rational creatures. Normative definition Others would say that suicide is ethically impermissible. (The Utilitarian Approach)Which action respects the rights of all who have a stake in the decision? Primarily concerned with establishing standards or norms for conduct and commonly associated with investigating how we OUGHT to act. Normative For example, some Utilitarians might argue that the death penalty is ethical because it deters crime and thus produces the greatest amount of good with the least harm. Objection to be fair in the distribution of benefits and risks. traditional values express a normative model of conduct List the differences between the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Hofstede studied people who worked for IBM in more than 50 countries. Why or why not? Business, too, is about relationships. Knowing the advantages and disadvantages of the frameworks will be helpful in deciding which is most useful in approach the particular situation with which we are presented. The person using the Consequences framework desires to produce the most good. Furthermore, most religions have high ethical standards but do not address many of the problems faced in business. However, male or female gender-specific identities are irrelevant in modern, civilized society. Individuals in a society have specific beliefs, but they also share collective values. Recognizing the right of a person to make one's own decisions. Kants famous formula for discovering our ethical duty is known as the categorical imperative. It has a number of different versions, but Kant believed they all amounted to the same imperative. This approach is also prominent in non-Western contexts, especially in East Asia, where the tradition of the Chinese sage Confucius (551-479 BCE) emphasizes the importance of acting virtuously (in an appropriate manner) in a variety of situations. We ask about what outcomes are desirable in a given situation, and consider ethical conduct to be whatever will achieve the best consequences. Federal Sentencing Guidelines for felonies and serious misdemeanors now carry mandatory prison time for individual executives who are convicted. A person of good character would be one who has attainted certain virtues. The Law Code of Hammurabi in Ancient Mesopotamia (c. 1750 BCE) held that all free men should be treated alike, just as all slaves should be treated alike. The Feminist ApproachIn recent decades, the virtue approach to ethics has been supplemented and sometimes significantly revised by thinkers in the feminist tradition, who often emphasize the importance of the experiences of women and other marginalized groups to ethical deliberation. Because God is seen as omnipotent and possessed of free will, God could change what is now considered ethical, and God is not bound by any standard of right or wrong short of logical contradiction. Times when person's beliefs and values can change as circumstances change. This is based on a formulation of Kants categorical imperative that says: Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of another, always at the same time as an end and never simply as a means to an end. The list of ethical rights is debated; many now argue that animals and other non-humans such as robots also have rights. This approach stipulates that the best ethical action is that which protects the ethical rights of those who are affected by the action. Another way to think about the relationship between ethics and morality is to see ethics as providing a rational basis for morality, that is, ethics provides good reasons for why something is moral. Concerned with outcome or consequences of an action in which the ends can justify the means. Relative worth placed on some virtuous behavior. How do I feel about my choice? WebThe field of ethics is traditionally divided into three areas: 1.) Kant argued that doing what is right is not about the consequences of our actions (something over which we ultimately have no control) but about having the proper intention in performing the action. Framework for Making Ethical Decisions No matter our culture, geography, or time, could we identify some basic normative behaviors to govern business conduct in general? But it becomes dangerous when people use it to blind themselves to the reality around them, reinforce hardened positions even in the face of contradictory evidence, and shirk their responsibility as moral beings. Chapter 3 Flashcards | Quizlet The damage done to an organizations or governments reputation due to scandal can be enormous and long lasting. 2.6 Personal Values and Ethics - Organizational Behavior By framing the situation or choice you are facing in one of the ways presented above, specific features will be brought into focus more clearly. Act Many ethical situations are uncomfortable because we can never have all of the information. Judgments concerned with what an individual or group believes to be the right or proper behavior in a given situation. By the end of this section, you will be able to: One of the perennial themes in business ethicsindeed, in ethics in generalis the difference between relative and absolute values. Our experience with applying particular ethical standards or principles can inform our understanding of how good these standard or principles are. Kants famous formula for discovering our ethical duty is known as the categorical imperative. It has a number of different versions, but Kant believed they all amounted to the same imperative. What were the intended and unintended consequences? are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written We are concerned with what kind of person we should be and what our actions indicate about our character. We might begin with always honoring the terms of a contract, consistently treating customers and partners with honesty, and never cheating. In this approach, an individual often uses utilitarian calculation to produce the greatest amount of good for him or herself. Morality is relative to the norms of the culture in which an individual lives. It is a values-based approach that seeks to define and determine what the right political behavior is based on values. Directs attention to the future effects of an action, for all people who will be directly or indirectly affected by the action. Let us look at how it is possible to align business with human rights in such a way that both profitability and responsibility are honored across the globe. We are practiced at making ethical judgments, just as we can be practiced at playing the piano, and can sit and play well without thinking. Nevertheless, it is not always advisable to follow our immediate intuitions, especially in particularly complicated or unfamiliar situations. Is it possible to identify a set of universal values that is consistent across cultures and time? The most basic form of the imperative is: Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. So, for example, lying is unethical because we could not universalize a maxim that said One should always lie. Such a maxim would render all speech meaningless. Based upon the three-part division of traditional normative ethical theories discussed above, it makes sense to suggest three broad frameworks to guide ethical decision making: The Consequentialist Framework; The Duty Framework; and the Virtue Framework. \text { Actual } & \text { Increase } & \text { Budgeted } \\ WebAbstract: This article presents a picture of each of the three theoretical modelsautonomy, socialist, and deontologicaland indicates how they differ from one another in their application to some aspects of attorney- client confidentiality, one of the most hotly debated topics of professional ethics. Study of the origin and meaning of ethical concepts. Ancient Greek Sophists like Thrasymacus (c. 459-400 BCE), who famously claimed that might makes right, and early modern thinkers like Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) may be considered forerunners of this approach. How do I feel about my choice? The argument here is over which facts argue for the morality of a particular action, not simply over the morality of particular principles. Problem= conflict with autonomy & beneficence. The most influential version of this approach today is found in the work of American philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002), who argued, along Kantian lines, that just ethical principles are those that would be chosen by free and rational people in an initial situation of equality. The field of ethics is traditionally divided into three areas: 1.) What were the intended and unintended consequences? Round budgeted units to the nearest unit. Among the advantages of this ethical framework is that focusing on the results of an action is a pragmatic approach. Types of Authority Because the answers to the three main types of ethical questions asked by each framework are not mutually exclusive, each framework can be used to make at least some progress in answering the questions posed by the other two. We ask about what outcomes are desirable in a given situation, and consider ethical conduct to be whatever will achieve the best consequences. FRAMEWORKS FOR ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING. These types of actions are seen as going above and beyond the call of duty. They are right to do, but it is not wrong not to do them. Also, because the framework looks at character, it is not particularly good at helping someone to decide what actions to take in a given situation or determine the rules that would guide ones actions. adj. WebPsychologist Dr. Geert Hofstede published his cultural dimensions model at the end of the 1970s, based on a decade of research. 2. We might argue that it is not the business of business to form people in their conscience, but the result of not doing so has become expensive for everyone concerned.32. What responsibilities do companies have regarding justice and care? Traditional This framework also focuses on following moral rules or duty regardless of outcome, so it allows for the possibility that one might have acted ethically, even if there is a bad result. Many religions promote ethical decision-making but do not always address the full range of ethical choices that we face. Briefly describe the tactics you used and look for similarities or differences between those and the tactics unions use with employers. 2. traditional values express a normative model of conduct Which action serves the community as a whole, not just some members? Ethical obligations are the same for all rational creatures (they are universal), and knowledge of what these obligations entail is arrived at by discovering rules of behavior that are not contradicted by reason. are licensed under a. It emphasizes the belief that all humans have a right to dignity. They can be personal values, cultural values or corporate values. When using the frameworks to make ethical judgments about specific cases, it will be useful to follow the process below. (credit: Love Is All You Need Signage by Jacqueline Smith/Pexels, CC0), article Panama Papers FAQ: All You Need to Know About The 2016 Investigation on the Panama Papers and how journalists might hold the corporate world to account in cases of fraud and corruption, article on the LIBOR scandal and the consequences, https://openstax.org/books/business-ethics/pages/1-introduction, https://openstax.org/books/business-ethics/pages/5-4-are-the-values-central-to-business-ethics-universal, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, Explain the difference between relative and absolute ethical values, Discuss the degree to which compliance is linked with organizational responsibility and personal values, Identify the criteria for a system of normative business ethics. For example, two people are walking down a hallway and see a third person drop their book bag, spilling all of their books and papers onto the floor. Bribery was also at the heart of the FIFA (Fdration Internationale de Football Association) corruption scandal, in which soccer officials, marketing executives, and broadcasters were accused of racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2015. Ethical conduct is whatever a fully virtuous person would do in the circumstances. The prescriptive models is something between normative and descriptive models. This does not deny the need for profit and financial success. Want to cite, share, or modify this book? Formulate Actions and Consider AlternativesEvaluate your decision-making options by asking the following questions: Which action will produce the most good and do the least harm?